Timeline
2013 7 April: the #narnia #itgetsbetter tweet wreaks havoc on LGBTQ+ fans of 1D, something starts cooking 27 April: Takemehomefromnarnia tumblr '''launched | '''1st Today's Action (over 100 actions to date) 1 May: Takemehomefromnarnia core group is set up. 17 May: @homefromnarnia twitter '''launched with IDAHOT educational action on online homophobia 4 Aug: Our masterpost about homophobic slurs on Twitter causes a stir 29 Sep: Ed's '''educational series on''' 1D's abusive relationship launched '''2014 21 Feb: Rainbow Direction is launched with a banner contest 10 March: Our 1DFansAgainstHomophobia Thunderclap action for Grimmy works out! 28 March: Red's "You make me strong" rainbow banner '''wins | IDAHOT charity drive''' & stores launched with 1DFansGive 25 April: Danny is the first participant to bring a rainbow sign to the Bogota, Colombia show 30 April & 6 May: Louis wears a rainbow shirt at Chile & Uruguay shows 17 May: Proceeds of our charity drive are donated to''' ItGetsBetter International''' 30 May: Ashleigh throws a rainbow bear on stage '''at Manchester show June: Rainbow bear shows up on stage in bondage gear & tours with 1D 10 Sep: LGBT Weekly runs '''1st press article about Rainbow Direction (see press page) Oct: We run our educational Coming Out Resources series on the TMHFN blog 11-12 Oct: On Coming Out Day 150 participants attend WWA Tour dvd screening | In the film Louis says he was proud fans held up "You Make Me Strong" signs 1 Nov: Teaser video summarizing Rainbow Direction WWA Tour activities launched 3 Nov: Harry says "not that important" about the gender of a significant other 5 Nov: We launch the "Safe Spaces for All" Rainbow Heart Badges in support of Harry & LGBTQ fans (>22000 downloads) Nov: +20 articles about Harry, Rainbow Direction, and Louis' rainbow Apple shirt, incl. The Independent Dec: proceeds from our WWA merch are donated to Young Out Here Singapore, Stonewall UK, ILGA Europe & the Trevor Project 30 Dec: Fans invited to vote for 1 of 3 Rainbow Direction OTRA Tour banner & shirt designs 2015 6 Jan: Rainbow Globe design wins contest & goes to our merch stores 10 Jan: A month ahead of tour we have doubled last years participation (862) and 68 of 72 shows covered 14 Jan: Harry tweets "I study rainbows" 1 Feb: Rainbow Direction WWA Tour video launched with Thunderclap (almost 21K views to date) 5 Feb: "Where Do Rainbow Hearts Go - Safe Spaces" campaign launched (dozens of submissions) 25 March: Zayn leaves 1D, kicking off discussion on racism and diversity in the fandom 7 April: Rainbow Direction's Asian participants featured in Attitude, '''we are so proud of it 19 April: RD does Louis' Doncaster Rovers charity match''' - he signs T's Rainbow Heart tote with a smiley 17 May: Project No Control's thunderclap becomes such a success, inadvertently upstaging our''' 2nd IDAHOT charity drive''' :-D | Still, we raise a chunk of money which we donate to the Rainbow International LGBT Activist Solidarity Fund | Edwin wins the rainbow bear he crafted for the raffle 12 June: GayTimes features the planned meetup for Brussels 13 June: 300 participants at Brussels OTRA show get No Control live | RBB joins the rainbow hair squad & brings a little friend: Sugar Baby Bear 18 June: At the start of Ramadan, sister blog World Almighty '''kicks off with '''1 Thing campaign '''for inclusiveness & cultural diversity 27 June: '''Rainbow Direction marches in Helsinki Pride ahead of show - Harry says crowd is "looking very colourful tonight, for some of you I know why and it's great" 10 July: Our Singapore crew '''make the press with their pic of '''Rainbow Safe Spaces Hearts and 1D's wax figures at Tussauds 18 July: In Vancouver, Harry picks up a participant's rainbow flag, '''put is on like a cape & parades around (his flag waving becomes a regular fixture) 21 July: MTV interviews co-founder Kat 21 Aug: Drag Me Down video features Harry drinking from an attention grabbing rainbow cup 10 Sep: an Attitude interview with Liam refers to rainbows at shows as "mainly about Harry and Louis" calling it "absolutely nuts" | RD explains what the rainbows are really for | In an outpouring of support fans create #RainbowWaveBoston and the first #rainbowlights action 12 Sep: With '''266 participants and numerous supporters at home''' #RainbowWaveBoston is a success and Boston is the 1st stadium to light up in rainbow colours''' Sep: +15 articles on the interview and Rainbow Direction's purpose to create safe spaces for LGBTQ+ fans | Spin talk interviews Li 28 Sep: Ellie @freddieismyqueen posts a Youtube''' Tribute to Rainbow Direction''' (close to 400K views) | At London show, the stage lights up rainbow for Girl Almighty 20 Oct: Belfast show cancelled but Home comes out and we adopt it as our anthem | With Rainbow International founder Paul Penny, Kat attends "the Abominable Crime" screening & hands''' Jamaican LGBTQ activist Maurice Tomlinson a Rainbow Heart Safe Spaces badge 27 Dec: we ask our followers about their '''favourite LGBTQ+ memories in 2015 and are overwhelmed by the responses 2016 10 Jan: Fresh into the 1D hiatus Lisa launches the #RainbowHeartsChallenge '''to craft 10.000 rainbow bead hearts''' by 2017 Spring: we reflect, regroup, craft, answer asks, do some today's actions & support #ProjectHome <3 June: LGBT Pride month: we do today's actions for Istanbul & Uganda | We take part in vigils for the Orlando Pulse victims July: We attend London, Brighton, Paris, Stuttgart, Berlin, Stockholm and Helsinki Pride ''' 17 July: Lisa hands out '''2300 of the rainbow hearts at Stuttgart Pride 23 July: Li gathers 30 Rainbow Directioners to march in Berlin Pride in t shirts designed for the occasion 29 Oct: We re-launch Rainbow Direction for Niall's Jingle Ball tour 9 Dec: News of Jay's death reaches the fandom & we support Project Just Hold On 10 Dec: Louis wears a shirt in rainbow colours for his first solo performance of Just Hold On 28 Dec: The Journal of Popular Music studies' special issue on Girls and Popular Music talks about Rainbow Direction in a piece about the (in)visibility of LGBT fans 2017 7 April: Sign of the Times is released - Harry tells Rolling Stone "most of the stuff that hurts me about what's going on at the moment is not politics, it's fundamentals, equal rights" a 8 May: Sign of the Times music video is released and has a rainbow in it. June: @StylesPrideWW launches #PrideStylesWW: '''a different rainbow banner for each HSLOT date!!! July: Rainbow Direction marches in (3rd) Helsinki and (2nd) Berlin Pride''' 30 July: MTV interviews co-founder Li 17 Aug: Millie Lovelock's thesis on 1D fandom makes the press, she refers to Rainbow Direction as a driving force of inclusiveness (see press page) September: @hesprideflag '''starts documenting every pride flag ever waved by Harry (We bow to you!!!) 27 Sep: A participant's pride flag is confiscated at the Nashville show, but Harry "restores it to its rightful place" on the mic stand. 6 Oct: Our participant @HilaryDuff assembles & hands out '''hundreds of #miniprideflags to wave during Sign of the Times in''' Philadelphia, in remembrance of deceased members of the LGBTQ+ community', it's so serene and beautiful, and Harry goes "wow" 25 Oct: In Paris, opener Muna commends the fandom for having created this safe space and dedicates "Our Place" to them 26 Oct: Harry posts a picture of the Paris crowd with rainbow and other LGBT pride flags on his Instagram 30 Oct: Lucy, T and Sheena hand out #'miniprideflags''' at Harry's show + lanyards & pins to recruit for London Pride 7 Nov: Li puts LGBTQ+ women in the spotlight with a #miniprideflag action during Woman at Harry's concert in Berlin 9 Nov: #Key103Live acknowledges @tommogochi_xs participation in Rainbow Direction at Louis' Manchester solo performance 9 Nov: the New Statesman runs an article''' on the Harry fans who organised '''#BlackLivesMatter actions and how they used the RD model to their success - congrats!!! 26 Nov: Participant @hl-love & friends hand out''' 700 #miniprideflags in Sydney to wave during Sign of the Times in celebration of marriage equality''' in Australia- Harry congratulates them on their recent political decision :-D 2018 13 March: the arena in''' Paris lights up in rainbow colours for Sign of the Times''' and it's breathtaking (thank you @team1DFrance and @sunilouis !) 27 March: Munich does #rainbowlights '''and "we love every colour of the rainbow" pride flag signs 28 March: '''super successful #rainbowlights action in Oberhausen organised by @Maike1D & friends - during SoTT Harry says "you look amazing" 30 March: our last Instagram message detailing the rainbow bracelet our participant wore to Liam's Dubai show, despite the risk of arrest 2 April: Milan 'goes all the way and does '#miniprideflags AND #rainbowlights '''during Sign of the Times 4 April: '''Bologna turns it up a notch with flowers and #rainbowlights for Sign of the Times 11-12 April: O2 London does the #rainbowlights thing 'too and ''finally the press "catches on" putting a spotlight on @RainbowHProject, well done! 22-29 April: It's Digital Pride week, and ' (watch us explode with pride) 30 April: Project @NHForestRainbow manages to '#turnforestrainbow during Niall's Brussels show''' 25 May: amazingly effective #rainbowlights '''action in '''Santiago, Chile 27 May: and another one in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil 5 June: HSHQ puts out rainbow Treat People With Kindness shirts for Pride Month 9 June: #rainbowlights '''in '''Sunrise, Florida 16 June: Toronto 'also comes through with the '#rainbowlights ''' 30 June: 4th time represented at '''Helsinki pride 2 July: Near the end of Harry's rainbow filled tour @hazprideflag gives a shoutout to fans who paved the way supporting Rainbow Direction 2014/15 & memories are shared 24 Aug: our last Tumblr message advertising @flagthisconcert's #miniprideflag project for Niall's Clarkston show 15 Sep: in the Journal of Transformative Works Bri Mattia credits''' Rainbow Direction's use of social media to combat the erasure of LGBT+ fans''' 23 Sep: our last tweet calling for participants for Louis' show in December August 2018: team goes on hiatus 22 Oct: Rainbow Direction featured in''' ' 2 Nov: '''Harry receives the for waving (our participants' :-D) pride flags & making his concerts "safe spaces" &' fans' '"Rainbow Project" gets a mention )'' '''2019 3 June: BTS fans do #rainbowlights at Wembley 29 July: Rainbow Direction walks Helsinki Pride for the 5th time - 'amazing @feanorblack!!! ''August 2019: the team comes out of hiatus 27 Aug: the team comes out of hiatus and launches '''Rainbows for Madrid for Liam's and Louis' shows at the CCME festival in September 23 Sep: in an interview with the Guardian, Australian Yve Blake mentions Rainbow Direction as an''' inspiration for creating her musical Fangirls''' 24 Sep: Little Mix fans do #rainbowlights in Cologne 27-28 Sep: 15 participants, a beautiful collection of rainbow gear pics, and Louis' smiley in rainbow colours in Madrid, Rainbow Direction is back! 14 Oct: Signups are up for Liam's, Niall's & Louis' Fall concert dates. With #rainbowlights volunteers for each Louis show in Nov-Dec we launch #RainbowLightsUp 15 Oct: in a Pitchfork longform, Allison McCracken calls Rainbow Direction a "great example of how tumblr queered popular culture". Here's to cultural impact! 13 Nov: Lots of rainbows and smiley faces at Louis' & Niall's Premios Telehit concert in Mexico city | Rainbow Direction launches signups for Louis' Harry's & Niall's 2020 tours